There are several breweries downtown including Great Lakes near Lorain & 25th (near West Side Market). There are a few others downtown. I know the Tasty Travels that Rachal Ray did in Cleveland included a brewery near the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame (as I recall she walked from one to the other, so it must be within walking distance of the Jake). Try Food Network to see exactly where she went: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_...

Great Lakes is not quite in downtown. That is where RR was, it is not really near the rock hall. Downtown there is the chop house brewery, and on the near by West Bank of of the Flats, Rock Bottom. If all those Chop House is most walkable, but you can take the red line rapid one stop west from tower city and get off at W. 25 (for great lakes). Walk up the steps from the train, look for the clock tower (west side market) and cross the street to Market Square- and GLBC is there. Other than the dogs (must get stadium mustard) I am not a huge fan of the ball park food. All of the brew places brew their own (although Rock Bottom and Chop House have same brewer) all are good. Great lakes has their beer at the Jake. The best burger downtown IMO is at The Little Bar.http://search.cityguide.aol.com/cleve... They are usually open during games but it i always good to check. they have a few local micros on tap.

I like Flannery's, an Irish pub, which is on the corner of Prospect and E. 4th Street. It has a nice patio- try the Southwest or Boyne Valley rolls. Also, there are several restaurants with nice patios on E. 4th Street which is really fun if the weather is nice.

I second this rec. It's only about a block or two north of the stadium. I recently had the Rueben there before a game and the meat was sliced thin, nary a glob of gristle in it and nice and juicy. On top of that the wait staff seemed to pride themselves on getting us out of there before the first pitch even though we told them we were in no hurry. They were probably just trying to get as many folks in and out before game time as they could to increase their revenue.

A place you might want to try for just a beer before the game and a good deal on parking is Fat Fish Blue. Park in the lot above the place and get your parking ticket validated and you either get a discount or free parking there (don't remember which it is). This place tries to present itself as a New Orleans style place, but the food is not that good in my opinion. So park there, have a beer, walk on down to Flannery's for food then over to the Jake.Enjoy

do all you Clevelanders think it's better to eat Before going to an Indians game? I thought the food at the Jake was pretty good and the nearby options - in terms of quality - don't seem to be too different from what's inside. Of course Lola is pretty close so I'm obviously generalizing. I'm quite curious about the responses here, and wonder what Pylon chose to do, partially because I'm heading back to Cleveland soon, and partially because it's my current focus: www.scoreboardgourmet.com

The Winking Lizard in the Gateway is a great place to grab a burger, or ribs, or many other food options. They also have an extensive beer selection. It's within walking distance of the Jake. I've never eaten at the Gateway location, but I've eaten at the Peninsula location and I love it. Also, the food at the Jake as I recall is pretty good. You can get pierogies there and the hot dogs are pretty good. I haven't been to a Tribe game in a couple of years though.